The report ´Progress of the World´s Women: In Pursuit of Justice´ says Nepal and Bhutan are the only two countries in the South Asian region that explicitly criminalize marital rape, according to a UN Women press statement received here.[break]
The UN Women´s first major report also states that Nepal, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are the only countries among the nine -- eight SAARC countries and Iran -- where domestic violence is recognized as a crime.
“From our comprehensive review of laws on violence against women, it is clear that where laws are in place on issues such as domestic violence, prevalence tends to be lower and fewer people think that violence against women in justifiable,” the statement quoted Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN Women Lakshmi Puri as saying at the launch of the report in New Delhi.
The report, commending the commitment of the Nepali political parties on ensuring 33% representation of women in every sector of society, says having more women in parliament speeds up reforms on women´s rights. “Women in India account for only 10 percent of ministerial positions and 11 percent of seats in the national parliament,” the report compares.
It has also mentioned that tax exemption granted to the families that share property with their wives, daughters and sisters has resulted in threefold increase of women´s land ownership between 2001 and 2009.
The report, while recognizing the overall progress made in South Asia, reminds that thousands of women in South Asia are still deprived of justice.
“We see that across South Asia, a great deal has been achieved to advance women´s rights, however, much remains to be done for half of its population. Progress is both possible and urgently needed,” Puri added.
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